🔗 Share this article

Attempts to free of the British-Egyptian activist frequently diverted Keir Starmer’s government from focusing on core home affairs, according to a former member of the PM's inner circle of ex-aides.

Frustration Became a Source of Humour

Paul Ovenden, who stood down last year as the PM's chief of strategy, said the case of the British political prisoner became a “running joke” among those in government exasperated with the lack of progress of change.

“We'd hold extended discussions on the key goals of the government, and often they would be railroaded via any other business into conversations of this gentleman,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added, “The majority on the political team of government weren’t that aware of it – not closely following it – because it didn’t impact us daily. It truly turned into a sort of a standing joke within government that people would invariably find a way to bring it back to this topic.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden said the amount of time spent on freeing Abd el-Fattah was indicative of a government that has found it difficult to stay focused on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “influential” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies.

These remarks came in his first public intervention since he stepped down in September, after it was revealed he had sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

However, Ovenden’s political analysis is shared by many in Number 10, even the prime minister, who lamented last month about bureaucratic hurdles slowing government action.

Ovenden said Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government was sidetracked from its main objectives. He cited controversies over reparations to former colonies and banning smoking in outdoor hospitality areas as further examples.

“When the public is getting more and more frustrated, more and more fed up with inaction, more and more fed up with distraction, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be spending their time on what I consider distractions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a further article, he calls on the government to scale back environmental regulations, cut benefits expenditure and even scrap the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“We don’t have to keep taking money of the productive parts of our economy in order to pay for inflation-busting pension increases for the wealthy or an unsustainable welfare system,” he writes. “We don’t have to strangle small businesses from the outset with excessive regulation.”

Having been part of a small group of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his exit was seen by many as a blow to Starmer, while his critique of Whitehall priorities finds sympathy in certain quarters.